- Title: SYRIA: Palestinan artist exhibits paintings in Damascus
- Date: 9th August 2009
- Summary: DAMASCUS, SYRIA (AUGUST 5, 2009) (REUTERS): VARIOUS OF THE PAINTINGS HANGING ON WALL VARIOUS OF HAELA AL-WAARY, PALESTINIAN ARTIST, TALKING ABOUT HER PAINTINGS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HAELA AL-WAARY, PALESTINIAN ARTIST, SAYING: "I did not want my exhibition on 'Jerusalem Here and There' to be sad, I wanted it to be full of hope. When you look at the colours and the painti
- Embargoed: 24th August 2009 13:00
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- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
- Reuters ID: LVA8RSNZVI2L0Y4DY7QVCKDRJ2WO
- Story Text: Artist Haela al-Waary exhibits in Damascus in celebration of Jerusalem's designation as Arab Cultural Capital 2009.
Palestinian painter Haela al-Waary has put fifteen of her paintings on show in the Syrian capital Damascus.
The week-long exhibition, entitled "Jerusalem Here and There 2009", started on Monday (August 3).
The theme is centred around a longing for the homeland, and the exhibition is done as part of celebrations of Jerusalem being named Arab Cultural Capital 2009 by the Arab League.
Al-Waary is a Palestinian refugee from Jerusalem who was forced to leave the city in 1967 when she was 5 years old. She then moved to Bahrain; but despite this, al-Waary remains positive when it comes to her home city.
"I did not want my exhibition on 'Jerusalem Here and There' to be sad, I wanted it to be full of hope. When you look at the colours and the paintings, there is pain but there is also happiness. I used a lot of colours and I felt that the viewer, when they come to see an exhibition about Jerusalem... I didn't want to put the uprising (Intifada), martyrs and blood. I felt that I wanted to use colours that would be happy and full of hope; and God-willing, we will be able to paint a picture of Jerusalem like that, with hope," she said.
Al-Waary used dust from Jerusalem in some of her paintings to show her nostalgia and her hopes that she will be able to exhibit in Jerusalem one day.
Khaled al-Khani is a Syrian artist who was at the al-Sayyed gallery in Damascus to view al-Waary's work.
"There is simplicity in the expression because when you work on a specific theme, sometimes you become obliged to repeat. She works correctly because her work isn't so obvious. She simplifies the paintings and she uses the correct colour and she wasn't so direct. Many artists that use the Palestinian theme use sadness and are very obvious. The nice thing about her is that I feel she distances herself from the obvious symbols," he said.
Income from paintings sales will be used to restore houses in Jerusalem, according to al-Waary.
Celebrations of Jerusalem as Arab Cultural Capital 2009 will continue in different countries where Palestinian refugees live. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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